Planning Main Product - Contents Layout Mock-up (3)

This is my third contents mock up so i asked my peer to assess this one also he said: "The picture used is a relative picture which links to the genre of music. The Subtitles on the side could be a bigger font to get rid of the dead space and the picture used could use a full face for the same reason. The title makes catches the readers attention but at the same time is very plain and again could be larger to become more effectful."

Planning Main Product - Contents Layout Mock-up (2)

This is my second contents page mock up, my peer assessed this work and he said: "The colour scheme used is abit bland but used effectively with the picture. There is not alot of dead space and the colours used with the text and the picture blend well. The font used is abit small and would be more effective if it was bigger."

Planning Main Product - Contents Layout Mock-up (1)

This is my first contents page i asked one of my peers to asses this, he said "The page is very simple but at the same time effective with the colours used and the fonts used. This title could be bigger and there is a lot of dead space. The text merges well around the photo and links in perfectly"

Planning Main Product - Cover Layout Mock-up (2)

 

I think that this cover is the best from the ones which I have made due to the picture dominating the page and standing out. My peers have also agreed that this is their favourite to for the same reasons. He said "The close up image is used well to make the main story stand out, the fonts used make the story more effective and the masthead draws attention to the cover. There is alot of dead space which could be used for subtitles and side stories." 

 

 

 

 



 

Planning Main Product - Cover Layout Mock-up (1)

Planning Main Product - Representation

In my magazine I have tried to represent a particular gender of people and a particular age group. I have aimed my magazine generally at young male between the ages of 16-26 years old. The way I have suited my magazine to this group of people is that I have dressed my models in clothes which may appeal to younger males. Also the subheadings used and the main story used are headlines which are aimed towards younger males so they may want to read my magazine more due to them being interested in what the storylines were about.

Planning Main Product - Masthead Fonts

 

 

 

 

 

 

From asking 15 people which masthead was their favourite, it came to the conclusion to use my 'Vibrations' masthead due to it being the most popular masthead from the people which I asked.

Planning Main Product - Target Audience

This is the questionnaire which I provided to people who were interested in my genre of magazine. This was to get a few ideas of what people were looking for in a magazine within certain age and gender groups before my product was created.

 

 

 

 



I searched for target audiences in other music magazines in my genre. This is some research which I found on 'Q' magazines website which shows that their audience for their magazine is a younger audience which is who I will be aiming my music magazine at. 'Q' magazine is a magazine in the same genre in which my magazine is in therefore this should work out well due to 'Q' being a well known and big selling magazine within my genre so it would make sense that my target audience would be aimed at the same younger generation as which 'Q's target audience is so that my magazine can become as big as my competitors.

 

Here is another questionnaire that I have done to get feedback on my planning and my draft products. This is one that a person from the 15 people I surveyed filled in. I kept the same 15 people to fill in this questionnaire in that filled the first questionnaire in; this is so my results are accurate.

Planning Main Product - Genre

Genre

The genre in which I have chosen to base my magazine on is rap. This is due to getting positive feedback from the questionnaires which i gave out, having 90% of the people surveyed answering that they were interested in rap more than anything. Therefore it would be a good idea to choose this genre because of having more information on this than other categories.

Planning Main Product - Analysis of Existing Magazines (Contents)

The word 'contents' is presented in a red box and written in white writing. By doing this it makes the make look vibrant and stands out so the audience know straight away that this is the contents page.

Underneath each subtitle in the 'features' section it tells you a little bit about each storyline. This will give the reader a sneak peak of what is to come inside the magazine which is a good technique to use due to the audience then wanting to read on to find out more.

The masthead reading 'drummer' links into the largest picture on this page. This makes it obvious to the audience what the magazine is all about and a brief idea of what is to come.

The colours used on this page are very well thought out. This is because they all stand out and contrast with eachother very well. The colour of the font on the background makes it more clear for the audience to read this makes it easier to find pages for example due to the page numbers standing out.

Planning Main Product - Analysis of Existing Magazines (Contents)

       



 

 

The contents page is divided into two sections which are:

 

-Features

-Regulars

 

The regulars part of the contents shows which parts of the magazine are used everytime such as competitions etc.

The features part of is things that are in the magazine just this week or month such as interviews etc.

 

The contrast of colours on this contents page go well together such as the white font on the black background. It is also well layed out due to the black background being a picture of a rock so it is related with what the magazine is about (mountain sport). This will also be clearer for the audience to read.

 

The word 'feature' is also presented on a slant. This will make it stand it to the audience to draw there attention.

 

 

 

 

 



Planning Main Product - Analysis of Existing Magazines (Cover)

The masthead is on the page is behind the picture of '50 Cent' which shows the dominence and importance which he has over the page showing that he is the main thing on there.

The font used in the sentence '50 Cent: Hip-Hop Icon' is big and bold. This combined with the picture of him comes across as though he is arrogent and confident due to him apparently being a 'Hip-Hop icon' and being centre of attention across the page.

The colours used on the cover are limited and both the pictures and the font contrast with eachother such as the white font on top of the black clothing worn by 50 Cent makes the splash stand out more to the audience.

All of the writing such as the subheadings are layed out around the edges of the magazine leaving just 50 cent's face in the middle showing again that he is the main thing on the page and that everything is revolving around him.



The picture of 'Eminem' is shown in front of everything on the page. this shows that he is the most important thing on the page and stands out from everything else. Also the look and pose which he is performing shows arrogance and confidence towards his character so the audience viewing it will be drawn towards his picture.
The subheading reads 'Eminem comes clean'. This automatically makes people think drugs or that he has done something which he shouldn't. this is because of the character which he has and what his past has been like. The picture also encourages this point of view as well due to what he is wearing (black colours) and also how he looks due to his appearance and pose (tattoos, arrogant look).
The colours used on this page also encourages the audience to think that Eminem may be a thug. Red and black are usually situated as dark and negative colours which add to his character.

The picture of 'Wiz Khalifa' is a close up. This shows his dominence on the page. His picture also covers the masthead on the page so this means he is the most important thing on there due to the people who made the magazine giving up the view of there name to make the picture of Wiz stand out more. The size of the font used to type 'Wiz Khalifa' is also larger than most other words on the magazine page which indicates that he is above everything else on the page.

The facial expression in the picture comes across to the audience as maybe being cocky and confident. This is backed up by a subheading reading 'Hip-Hops rookie of the year Wiz Khalifa' so it shows that this is probably he reason for him to be cocky.

Also the subheadings and texts are layed out around the picture of him. This shows that The magazine are basing everything around Wiz Khalifa because of him being the main subject of the page.

Planning Main Product - Analysis of Existing Magazines (Contents)

The Word Contents stands out to the audience on the page. This is because of how it is layed out in an unusual way and also how the text is big and bold. This allows the reader to locate the contents page more easily.

The picture shot medium close up. This makes his body fill most of the screen showing his importance on the page. The arm which is reaching over his body also indicates that people want to be him or be with him. this links into his arrogent and cocky facial expression which he is doing in the picture due to people thinking this of him.

The colours which are used on the page are well thought out due to them all being in contrast with what Kanye West is wearing. This again shows that everything on the page is about him even the colours are revolving round him.

Planning Main Product - Analysis of Existing Magazines' Double Page Spread

On this double page spread the image and text are given a whole page each to themselves. This shows the image standing out to the audience due to it filling up a whole page which could also show that the person in the picture is important to the text and will catch the audiences eye making them want to read more. The headline going across both of the pages is the biggest font used on the age. This means that the information giving in the headline is trying to stand out to the reader which will also draw them in and want to read into the article. The text in the article is also set out in a simple way which makes it easy to read. This means the audience will not be put off reading it due to the layout being too complex and over the top. Also the colours used throughout the page contrast well together and don’t clash. This will attract the audience to the page because it doesn’t look a mess and is laid out pleasantly.

Preliminary Product - Final Contents Page

This is my final product. I chose to change the position of the word 'Contents' to the top of the page and made the font bigger. I did this because the audience will want to see which page the contents page is and it will be easier for them to find and see if it’s in a bigger font and at the top of the page. I also added the Biddulph High School logo to it so that the audience recognise the school logo and will then know which school the magazine is associated with.

Preliminary Product - Draft Contents Page

 

Evaluation of Preliminary Exercise

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a school magazines?

In my magazine I have used a conventional shot of a medium close up. I used this because it will stand out on the page making it the centre of attention. The mast head I have also positioned in a conventional way due to it being at the top of the page. This is because it is important for people to see the name of the magazine so will be one of the first things the audience will see.

 

2. How effective is the front page of your magazine in focusing on the ethos of the school?

The front page of my magazine is effective on focusing on the ethos of the school because it shows a student at hard work on a computer showing that the school has a hard working ethos. Also it shows a picture of a person kicking a football. This shows the school has a sporty and healthy lifestyle to its ethos.

 

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From my audience feedback I have learned that it is best to cover as much blank space as possible on the cover of the magazine. This is to make it seem less dull and so the magazine gives more information out to the audience. Also I have found out that the fonts which I have used are suitable due to them being easy to read so therefore the audience will not be put off by strange fonts making it hard for them to read.

 

4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

I used Macromedia Fireworks whilst creating my cover and contents pages. I learnt when constructing these pieces of work many new effects such as cropping images. I used this so that the picture which was cropped fitted into the magazine page making it look more professional. This is a good tool to be able to use due it making your pictures on the magazine look like they fit better on the page and gives it a more professional look. Another thing which I learnt was importing fonts. I imported the font which I thought would most suit the magazine cover to give it more of a professional look, where as if I had just of used a random font it would have looked out of place and unprofessional due to it maybe not suiting the style of which the magazine is.

Preliminary Product - Draft Front Cover

Preliminary Product - Final Front Cover

On my final product I decided to add a blue box behind the text on the left side. I did this so that it would be easier for the audience to read the information because it was a black font on a dark background before therefore it will be much easier to read on a lighter background. I also decided to change the font which I used for the masthead due to it looking more professional and formal than the other font.

Preliminary Product - Semiotics Images and Names

Visual semiotics is what words or phrases are associated with a certain image when you see it. For example, if you see a picture of a heart you may think of love and passion, or maybe life, or feelings.Semiotics in names is when a name could mean something to you or  that it could be a sign of something.
In my preliminary product I have chosen to use a picture of someone, in their school uniform, studying at a computer which shows intelligence as well as pride towards the school due to wearing the schools uniform. This will attract the target audience due to them wearing the school uniform to so they should therefore want to take pride of being at the school.

Preliminary Product - Masthead Font

 

 

I chose to use this masthead on my final product because the font is easy for the audience to read so they will know the name of the magazine. It also has a unique look about it which is different from normal fonts but still makes the magazine look formal and professional. This will therefore appeal to my audience due to the magazine not looking unprofessional.